Friday, October 18, 2013

Ethanol

By Josh Wildman

Many people do not know what ethanol is, apart from it being manufactured from corn and put into gasoline. And because of this, they think that it is a waste of money that could be going into some other sort of research. What they don’t know is the benefits it has relative to the negatives. The government cut $6 billion worth of subsidized ethanol back in 2011, discouraging the production and research of it.  The most common type of ethanol consumed is E10. This means that the gasoline you are pumping into your fuel tank contains 10% of the stuff comes from corn. The only difference when comparing E10 to straight gasoline is about a 3.5% drop in fuel economy. Which after factoring in the amount of money you save by using E10 compared to straight gasoline brings the effect down to 0%. Another type of ethanol is E85. This mixture contains 85% pure alcohol and can only be used by approved engines. These engines are labeled as “Flexible Fuel Vehicles” by the manufacturer and can run on anything up to 85% ethanol.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJK6qZN0z_M

Using ethanol in our gasoline lowers its cost here in the midwest, but makes it more expensive in other areas. Much of the corn used to make it also comes from the midwest because of our huge farming community. President Bush made a push for biofuels when he was in office. He wanted “...the use of ethanol to curb gasoline consumption by 20% by 2017.” This hasn’t quite happened yet because scientists are still working on their end to get more out of what they have to make it cheaper. (And there have been a few other government budget problems as you may know.) It is slightly more expensive to produce, but it also means using less gasoline and producing less exhaust pipe fumes, some people even like the sweet smell of E85.

Picture 1:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOkgkJyBjHIJNZz6mZxlAKgO5I6wxGaqU5bvL52lWCUFZsQs1Ql8HMq914pDMR3WGis1-1fd6c0k9lf5M7-96uvNuX1k2C7epX7sSStixSvhITTLSj3NqsAnwXkOZ03spnWGUSP52t78/s1600/ethanol+graph2.jpg

Picture 2:
http://www.farmpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/CornUtERSFeedOutlook11Feb.jpg

For an article arguing against the use of ethanol, click here: http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/full-planet-empty-plates-chapter-4-food-or-fuel.html

In this article, it is stated that “Not only are biofuels helping raise food prices, and thus increasing the number of hungry people, most make little sense from an energy efficiency perspective.” There are several studies that do prove these facts, and might even provide some evidence that the production of ethanol is directly related to people dying of starvation.

Even if creating ethanol is starving people in other countries, it is making well paying jobs here at refineries. Jobs like engineering, chemistry, and accounting. “In 2012, the production of 13.3 billion gallons of ethanol directly employed 87,292 Americans. An additional 295,969 Americans found work in positions indirectly affiliated with or induced by ethanol production…adding $30.2 billion to household income” This household income is stimulating the local economies, which helps everything increase in value. And in the big picture, “The goods and services sold as a result of the operation of the ethanol facility adds $274 million to the local GDP.” This is a large chunk of money in the economy that is greatly valued in a market that is trying to make a comeback. There might not be a large support of ethanol, and it might not be the most efficient of the alternative energy resources, but it is helping pump a lot of money into local economies and is decreasing our use of fossil fuels.

"Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol."Alternative Fuels Data Center . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
<http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol.html>.

"Corn." USDA.com. USDA, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn/
background.aspx#.UkCWyzu1HoI>.

"Ethanol." Fuel Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol

"Ethanol Facts: Economy | RFA: Renewable Fuels Association." RFA:Renewable Fuels Association.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pages/ethanol-facts-economy>.

10 comments:

  1. I believe that creating ethanol uses a lot of water. About 1000 gallons of clean drinking water is used to make 1 gallon of ethanol. People could be using that water to drink. In my eyes it seems like a waster of clean water. However, America is paying very high prices for gas and could use a decrease in price. Ethanol can accomplish that.

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  2. Another way to look at ethanol as a good thing is that it keeps many maize farmers employed. Recently the cost of food has gone down, including corn, making it difficult for farmers to make a living and causing them to work harder for it. If farmers can set up contracts with these companies creating ethanol, it will give them more business and a chance to sell a lot more corn than they normally would, keeping them in business. This in turn allows us to keep eating corn.

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  3. Ethanol looks like it can be a benefit to Americans as an additive to fuel despite what popular belief says it can do to food prices. Almost every year the government pays farmers not to farm on their land to prevent and excess of food from spilling into the market. The economic benefit of using corn in gasoline rather than not growing it at all seems like a good alternative.

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  4. It is incredible to think that 40% of the corn made in US is now turned into ethanol. All of this corn could go to feed people in the world. In addition all of the subsidies that go to lower the cost of ethanol could be used to help research better techniques of producing ethanol that could lower the price.

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  5. I see the positive effects that ethanol has on the local economy but I never knew that it had such of a big input on other countries starvation issues. I think that there should definitely be more research done on ethanol to see how we could use it to our best advantage without harming anywhere else.

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  6. First thing first, very interesting piece on alternative energy. I find it interesting that the US wants to convert more to ethanol even though it is more expensive than gas. I mean I have never feared that the US was going to run out of gas simply because we haven't tapped most of it and there is many other alternative energy sources that are just too expensive right now. Lastly the main problem with ethanol is that it simply does not burn as clean in the cars engine as normal gas.

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  7. I agree with Eric that its amazing that 40% of the corn made in the United States goes towards ethanol. I also agree with Parker that farmers have more options now to sell there product and make profit. The only downside to making ethanol is using clean water. People estimate that we will run out of clean drinkable water and by the ways they make ethanol is wasting way to much water.

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    Replies
    1. *is amazing* end of first sentence.

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  8. Ethanol is pretty common but I don't think that it's going to be a reliable alternative energy anytime soon mainly because of the price and the food shortage that people around the world will face. On the other hand though, going into the ethanol industry could prove useful in the long run as oil is becoming a bigger issue every year. I think the U.S. should look closer into the long term affects of ethanol, not only for its use, but also careers, and the boosts in GDP which could be beneficial.

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  9. As appealing as this alternate energy seems, I can easily see the price rises in food hurting us in the long run. Before any decisions should be made on the direction our alternate energy route should follow, the slow creation an extreme surplus of corn would be thinking ahead to prevent shortages and starvation. This would crossover to genetically altered food which would be a topic for another time, but both the technology and time needed are currently at hand.

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